Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Scorched Earth is the first book to chronicle the effects of chemical warfare on the Vietnamese people and their environment, where, even today, more than 3 million people&#8212;including 500,000 children&#8212;are sick and dying from birth defects, cancer, and other illnesses that can be directly traced to Agent Orange/dioxin exposure. Weaving first-person accounts with original research, Vietnam War scholar Fred A. Wilcox examines long-term consequences for future generations, laying bare the ongoing monumental tragedy in Vietnam, and calls for the United States government to finally admit its role in chemical warfare in Vietnam. Wilcox also warns readers that unless we stop poisoning our air, food, and water supplies, the cancer epidemic in the United States and other countries will only worsen, and he urgently demands the chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange to compensate the victims of their greed and to stop using the Earths rivers, lakes, and oceans as toxic waste dumps. Vietnam has chosen August 10&#8212;the day that the US began spraying Agent Orange on Vietnam&#8212;as Agent Orange Day, to commemorate all its citizens who were affected by the deadly chemical. Scorched Earth will be released upon the third anniversary of this day, in honor of all those whose families have suffered, and continue to suffer, from this tragedy.

About the Author

FRED A. WILCOX has been a scholar on the Vietnam War for the past thirty years. He has published numerous articles and made several media appearances as a trusted authority on the war and its aftereffects. He teaches at Ithaca College. NOAM CHOMSKY is a world-renowned political activist, writer, and professor of linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His books with Seven Stories Press include 9-11 and Profit Over People.

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